Man Killed in Crane Accident

A 39 year-old man who worked for a crane company at Appleton Papers West Carrollton plant died yesterday, July 15, after he was trapped beneath what is believed to be a large piece of crane.

William Wilson of Trotwood worked for Crane Pro Services and was in the mill to work on a piece of equipment, said Bill Van Den Brandt, a spokesman for Appleton, a Wisconsin-based paper company. The equipment, which weighs approximately 5 tons, was being lowered to undergo service and somehow ended up across the man’s hip and pinning one of his legs, West Carrollton Fire Chief Jack Keister said.

Emergency responders dispatched to the mill at 1030 W. Alex Bell Road about 10:45 a.m. placed bags under the equipment and filled them with air to lift it and remove the man, Keister said. He was released within five minutes of West Carrollton fire personnel responding and was taken by CareFlight to Miami Valley Hospital, Keister said.

“It was a traumatic injury,” he said.

The man’s death was confirmed by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. No other information about him was immediately available.

The equipment, known as a strong back, moves rolls of paper and can handle approximately 55,000 pounds at a time, Keister said.

Officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration arrived at the scene by 1:30 p.m. and were working with West Carrollton police and coroner’s investigators to determine what happened, Keister said.

“Safety is a premium concern for us, and it is something we stress all the time,” Van Den Brandt said. “To have an injury of any sort, especially a fatal one, is tragic. Our condolences go out to the family, and the situation remains under investigation.”

At Nahets, safety is more than just a concern, it’s the thing we put our most attention on. Obviously, accidents happen, and you cannot blame this death on any one thing. But to limit those accidents to things less serious is something you can control.